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Praetorian Battlesuit
"We have control, We keep you safe, We are your hope!" :- Motto of the Praetorian Units Background The Sprawls of the Mediterranean Syndicate are suspended between order and chaos, and not by accident. The Board of Classics knows that too much of either will lead to eventual catastrophe and ruin. Too much order stifles competitiveness, results in stasis and a slow but gradual decline. Because of this, the Board tries to bring the Sprawls as close as possible to chaos and disorder, knowing that it will result in a brutal and cutthroat populace, one capable of doing anything to survive and succeed; such a hypercompetitive system, they believe, breeds capable and innovative people by weeding out those too weak to make it. But on the flip side, it is a constant struggle to ensure that things do not slip into complete chaos, to make sure that Sprawls do not go past the point where maintaining any semblance of order becomes impossible, where the entire city falls into anarchy. The only thing that has prevented a great many Sprawls from collapsing is the fact that most of the time, Legion Security is able to restore order before permanent, irreparable damage is done. Even so, such loss of control is inevitably costly, as a result of the disruption of economic activity and damage to infrastructure. Thus, to minimise the amount of damage that can be done whenever a Sprawl slips into chaos, after every such operation Legion Security will look into its methods, to see where it went wrong, where it could improve, so that when the next Sprawl breaks, they can fix it as quickly and efficiently as possible. Legion Security's methods have been constantly refined over the years, going from infantry backed by unproteced cars to fully armoured fighting vehicles armed with sear gas and heavy gyrojet turrets and helicopter support. Indeed, the increasing effectiveness of Legion Security's methods of control means that the last Sprawl broke some time ago, but when the next one does, it will be the first combat deployment of the Praetorian Battlesuits. Intended as personal bodyguards for high ranking Syndicate executives, the Praetorian Battlesuits are a very recent introduction to the Syndicate arsenal, even compared to other battlesuits. Building upon Syndicate cybernetics, Praetorians represent the fusion of man and machine taken to its most extreme, where a human is "implanted" into a mechanical body, instead of the other way round. Because of this, Praetorians have superhuman agility and endurance, and while their weapons and armour are relatively light by battlesuit standards, they are still better armed than an unaugmented human, with a pair of oversized burst pistols that a normal person would find almost impossible to control, and lightweight armour plating that easily resists impacts from most small arms and can defy even heavy calibre bullets. As one of the lightest battlesuits, Praetorians are highly agile, and well suited to take on the violence of the Sprawls, at least in theory. Though they will have problems if faced with heavy weaponry or vehicles, their burst pistols make short work of anyone out in the open, and even those barricaded in buildings are not safe; the Praetorian's strength means it can simply smash through reinforced doors or even walls, and messily but effectively gun down anyone inside. While anyone can be used as the human component of a Praetorian Battlesuit, more often than not Legionnaires who have been critically wounded or badly crippled are selected for the procedure, as it preserves a valuable, veteran mercenary who would otherwise go to waste. The use of an alert, experienced mind makes the Praetorians more flexible than other battlesuits, particularly those that are controlled by the insensate minds of drug addicts, emotionally stunted Hoplites, or the stripped remnants of a human brain. Still, the Praetorians are an untested force; only actual combat will tell if they are indeed capable of going up against the oft-heavily armed gangs of the Sprawls or putting down violent rioters, but for now they are kept in reserve, until such a time when their services are needed. Behind the Scenes The Praetorian Battlesuit may very well be based on everyone's favorite cyborg police officer, Robocop, given his cybernetic suit and oversized burst pistol. Category:Units